Fabric softener compositions are widely described in the prior art, and are in particular the object of many patent applications. These compositions constitute the main class of consumer products intended for a fabric treatment subsequent to the fabric washing, and they are primarily designed to achieve what is usually referred to as fabric “softness”, which designates the quality of the treated fabric whereby its handling or texture is smooth, pliable and fluffy to the touch. Fabric softness also connotes the absence of static “cling” in the fabrics.
Various chemical compositions have long been known to possess the ability to soften fabrics when applied to them during the laundering operation, particularly during the rinse cycle. The most commonly used softening agents are cationic softeners which provide both softening and antistatic benefits when applied to fabrics. More particularly, softening effects provided by compositions for laundered garments are typically achieved by delivering a quaternary ammonium compound to the surface of the fabric. These cationic, water insoluble quaternary ammonium compounds include in particular esterquats, imidazolinium quats, di-fatty diamido ammonium methyl sulfate, di-fatty amidoamine and di-tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride. The well-known effectiveness of the conventional cationic fabric softeners is based in particular on the distinct chemisorption of the emulsified cationic particles, which are absorbed on the fibre by virtue of the ionic interaction with the anionic fibre surface. It is also known in the literature that good softening effects can be achieved by mixing non-ionic and cationic softeners.
In spite of the usefulness of cationic softeners to improve the fabric touch after washing thereof, it is advantageous to find alternatives to these compounds for use in fabric softeners, which may impart to the fabrics a less “fatty” touch, for example, whilst efficiently transporting fragrance into the textiles treated, such that the latter exhibit the desired fresh and clean odor perception.
Now, the present invention provides an effective solution to this objective by realizing a novel fabric rinsing composition which is free of any cationic softener compound.
Other kinds of post-washing products are also known, and provide specific effects to the treated materials. For instance U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,750 describes a fabric rinse composition that removes residual soap and surfactant left in the clothes during washing.
As pointed out above, besides the pleasant feel to the touch or rising effect provided on the treated fabrics, the consumers usually expect from a product such as a fabric softener or a rinse composition that the latter imparts a freshness or a pleasant smell to the treated material. In fact, it turns out that the perfume present in a detergent composition is usually only slightly or even not at all perceived after a washing cycle. Conversely, the post-washing treatment of the linen, since it is carried out under smoother conditions, allows a better deposit of the perfume onto the treated surface, such that the consumers perceive this freshness and/or fragrance longer after its treatment. However, the fabric softeners or rinsing compositions disclosed up to date only allow to incorporate limited quantities of perfuming ingredients and, as a consequence, they deliver limited amounts of perfume during the post-washing treatment.
The present invention provides a solution to this second problem encountered in the prior art with fabric rinsing compositions that, upon use, imply solubilization of high quantities of perfuming ingredients. More particularly, the compositions of the invention consist of oil-in-water emulsions prepared by a process which unexpectedly leads to a product susceptible of depositing large quantities of the perfume incorporated in the emulsions onto the treated surface, thus providing a pleasant fresh smelling effect to the fabric for a prolonged period of time after this treatment.